Commlite announces ComTrig T320 ‘auto-sensing’ universal flash trigger

The new ComTrig T320 combines wireless flash triggering, camera remote control, flash wake-up and TTL pass-through all in one unit. According to Commlite, its China-based manufacturer, the product will fulfil photographers’ needs “better [than] traditional flash triggers in the market” and is “reliable” in terms of both working distance and stability.

One of the more distinctive features boasted by the T320 is its “auto-sensing” capability, which means you don’t have to put the remote into a specific “camera” or “flash”-triggering mode because the firmware is clever enough to work out what you are trying to do and switch into the right mode automatically. Now, unlike the Yongnuo YN-622C, this trigger won’t let you use your remote flashes in TTL mode but you can have a TTL-enabled fill flash on top of the camera thanks to the T320’s pass-through hotshoe.

Bucking the trend for Chinese manufacturers — many of whom offer a fragmented range of disjoint radio devices — the T320 is compatible with the rest of the ComTrig line-up, including the H550 and G430 series. So you can mix and match. Should you switch from Canon to Nikon, or want to use a camera of one brand with flashes from the other, you need not worry about getting new radio triggers because the T320 has a “universal” design that supports both brands at once.

Key features

• Flash trigger for speedlights and studio lights
• Can be used as a wired or wireless camera remote controller
• “Auto-sensing”: switches between modes automatically
• Operates on the 2.4GHz frequency band, with 7 channels
• Working range of up to 120 metres
• Listed sync speed of up to 1/320 second (depending on your camera)
• Will wake up speedlights from sleep mode (including the Nikon SB-600)
• Universal design for both Canon and Nikon with TTL pass-through
• Inter-compatible with other ComTrigs
• Runs on AAA batteries

We will be interested to find out how consistently the T320 works with its “universal” pinouts, since it’s something that no other manufacturer appears to have done successfully to date. Will having a one-size-fits-all trigger turn out to be reliable for TTL pass-through and waking up flashes, or is there a good reason that other companies make separate units for Canon and Nikon?

The ComTrig T320 will be priced very reasonably, at US$32.99 for a basic kit, then $19.99 per additional receiver. You can find out more on the manufacturer’s product page.